5 Red Sox Leaving Boston in the New Year
By Ryan Bunton
1. Kenley Jansen
Coming into the offseason, this would have been a steaming hot take. Still, Jansen's name has recently emerged as a surprising possibility to be moved this offseason. Jansen has solidified himself as one of the premier closers in all of baseball history, as the Curacaoan is one of only eight pitchers to have reached the 400-save plateau. He converted 29 of 33 save opportunities for Boston in 2023, proving that he can still perform at a high level.
However, Jansen is due $16 million in 2024 in the final year of his contract at age 36. He will be the fifth-highest paid Sox after Giolito's signing and is tied for the second-highest salary for an MLB closer. Jansen has earned his contract as one of the premier closers in all of baseball history, but Boston has some flexibility on the back end if they do choose to part with his significant salary. Reliever Chris Martin had a phenomenal 2023 campaign in which he held opponents to a 1.05 ERA. If Tanner Houck is moved out of the rotation, he also has experience closing, going eight for nine on save opportunities in 2022. Martin and Houck give the Red Sox options in-house if Jansen does in fact get dealt.
The Red Sox have been exploring trade talks on members of their bullpen to bring back additional controllable pitching, similar to the Alex Verdugo trade package.
— Chris Henrique (@ChrisHenrique) December 26, 2023
Kenley Jansen’s name has come up in talks, as @EdHand89 mentioned. Other members of the bullpen as well, per…
This would be yet another Chaim Bloom-y move from Breslow, but if Boston's intention is genuinely to shed salary in exchange for controllable young talent, a la the Alex Verdugo and Chris Sale trades, this move would objectively make sense to achieve that goal. Regardless of how you feel about that timid philosophy and approach, there is no denying that.
In other Boston Red Sox news:
feed